Killer 'insane'

The lawyer representing Anders Behring Breivik, the man charged with killing eight in a bomb attack in central Oslo and shooting 68 people dead at a youth camp shortly after, said his client is likely "insane."

"He says he is sorry he had to do this but it is necessary," Attorney Geir Lippestad told reporters on Tuesday in Oslo. "He hates all the Western ideas and the values of democracy. My point of view is that he's a very cold person."

At this point it is not clear if Breivik will plead insanity in response to the charges. Lippestad said he had not yet discussed a defense strategy with his client, but said he had taken up the case to preserve the integrity of the Norwegian legal system. He warned, however, that he would drop the case if Breivik refused to undergo psychological tests.

Start of a '60-year war'

Lippestad added that Breivik considers himself to be "in a war," and that the "rest of the world doesn't understand his point of view." This, according to Lippestad, made Breivik feel justified in his actions.

"He looks upon himself as a warrior. He started this war and takes some kind of pride in that," Lippestad said. "He believes that when you're in a war you can do things like that without pleading guilty."

According to Lippestad's account, Breivik had expected to be killed by police during Friday's attacks or on the way to the courthouse for Monday's hearing. He was remanded in custody and will spend up to eight weeks in confinement. Breivik was also surprised that "he had succeeded, that in his mind he had succeeded."

Written manifesto outlined beliefs and goals

Before the attacks, Breivik published a 1,500-page manifesto online, which detailed his beliefs and goals, including plans to "inflict as much injury" as possible to Norway's Labour Party. The youth camp where the shooting took place is affiliated with the Labour Party. Breivik specifically requested that Lippestad be his defense council, although Lippestad is a member of the Labour Party.

Part of the text included references to Dutch politician Gert Wilders and his Party for Freedom. Wilders was acquitted last month in a Dutch court on discrimination charges stemming from anti-Islam remarks. However, Wilders distanced himself from Breivik's actions on Tuesday, saying he was "repulsed" that his name and the name of his party had been mentioned.

Breivik also wrote that he considers himself to be a "Knight Templar," referring to a medieval order of knights during the Crusades.

Media reports in Germany say that the hacker group Anonymous has issued an online call to redistribute altered versions of Breivik's manifesto in an effort to strip the original of its meaning.

Author: Matt Zuvela (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Rob Turner